''Dirty Dingus Magee'' is a 1970 American

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

revisionist Western The revisionist Western (also called the anti-Western, sometimes revisionist antiwestern) is a sub-genre of the Western film. Designated a post-classical variation of the traditional Western, the revisionist subverts the myth and romance of th ...

film directed by

Burt Kennedy Burton Raphael Kennedy (September 3, 1922 – February 15, 2001) was an American screenwriter and director known mainly for directing Westerns. Budd Boetticher called him "the best Western writer ever." Biography Kennedy was born in 1922 i ...

and starring

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the " Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular entertainers of the 1940s, 1950s, and ...

as the title outlaw and

George Kennedy George Harris Kennedy Jr. (February 18, 1925 – February 28, 2016) was an American actor who appeared in more than 100 film and television productions. He played "Dragline" opposite Paul Newman in ''Cool Hand Luke'' (1967), winning the Academ ...

as a sheriff out to capture him. The movie was based on the novel ''The Ballad of Dingus Magee'' by

David Markson David Merrill Markson (December 20, 1927 – June 4, 2010)The_Egyptian_Book_of_the_Dead.html" ;"title="'The Egyptian Book of the Dead">'The Egyptian Book of the Dead'' (p. 147) * "A kind of verbal fugue" (p. 170) * "A classic traged ...

and the

screenplay ''ScreenPlay'' is a television drama anthology series broadcast on BBC2 between 9 July 1986 and 27 October 1993. Background After single-play anthology series went off the air, the BBC introduced several showcases for made-for-television, f ...

was partly written by

Joseph Heller Joseph Heller (May 1, 1923 – December 12, 1999) was an American author of novels, short stories, plays, and screenplays. His best-known work is the 1961 novel ''Catch-22'', a satire on war and bureaucracy, whose title has become a synonym for ...

Plot

Hoke Birdsill rides into Yerkey's Hole demanding the law take action because Dingus Magee has robbed him. Since no law exists, the mayor, Belle, who also runs the town's bordello, sees to it that Hoke himself becomes the new sheriff. Dingus keeps getting away with his crimes, helped by Anna Hot Water, his young Indian companion, but when he tries to steal from Belle, he finds Hoke has beaten him to it. Hoke enjoys being on the other side of the law, so Dingus turns the tables, becoming sheriff to go after him. After being rivals for so long, Dingus and Hoke eventually team up, burning Belle's brothel to the ground.

Cast

as Dingus Magee *

as Hoke Birdsill *

Anne Jackson Anne Jackson (September 3, 1925 – April 12, 2016); retrieved April 16, 2016Archivedfrom the original on April 16, 2016. was an American actress of stage, screen, and television. She was the wife of actor Eli Wallach, with whom she often co-st ...

as Belle Nops *

Lois Nettleton Lois June Nettleton (August 16, 1927 – January 18, 2008) was an American film, stage, radio, and television actress. She received three Primetime Emmy Award nominations and won two Daytime Emmy Awards. Early life Lois Nettleton was born on Aug ...

as Prudence Frost *

Jack Elam William Scott "Jack" Elam (November 13, 1920 – October 20, 2003) was an American film and television actor best known for his numerous roles as villains in Western films and, later in his career, comedies (sometimes spoofing his villaino ...

as Wesley Hardin (spoofing real-life outlaw

John Wesley Hardin John Wesley Hardin (May 26, 1853 – August 19, 1895) was an American Old West outlaw, gunfighter, and controversial folk icon. Hardin often got into trouble with the law from an early age. He killed his first man at the age of 15, claiming he ...

) *

Michele Carey Michele Carey (born Michele Lee Henson; February 26, 1942 – November 21, 2018) was an American actress who was best known for her role as Josephine "Joey" MacDonald in the 1966 Western film ''El Dorado''. She appeared in movies and guest-starr ...

as Anna Hot Water *

John Dehner John Dehner (DAY-ner) (born John Dehner Forkum, also credited Dehner Forkum; November 23, 1915February 4, 1992) was an American stage, radio, film, and television actor. From the late 1930s to the late 1980s, he amassed a long list of performan ...

as General George * Henry Jones as Reverend Green * Harry Carey, Jr. as Charles Stuart *

Paul Fix Peter Paul Fix (March 13, 1901 – October 14, 1983) was an American film and television character actor who was best known for his work in Westerns. Fix appeared in more than 100 movies and dozens of television shows over a 56-year career b ...

as Chief Crazy Blanket * Terry Wilson as the unnamed

Sergeant Sergeant ( abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other ...

Reception

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

of the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the '' Chicago ...

'' thought the movie was awful: "I lean toward blaming Frank Sinatra, who in recent years has become notorious for not really caring about his movies. If a shot doesn't work, he doesn't like to try it again; he might be late getting back to Vegas. What's more, the ideal Sinatra role requires him to be in no more than a fourth of the scenes, getting him lots of loot and top billing while his supporting cast does the work."Roger Ebert, "Dirty Dingus Magee" Nov. 23, 1970 http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/dirty-dingus-magee-1970

References

External links

* * * * 1970 films 1970s Western (genre) comedy films Films directed by Burt Kennedy Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films American Western (genre) comedy films 1970 comedy films Films based on American novels 1970s English-language films 1970 Western (genre) films 1970s American films {{1970s-Western-film-stub